The percentage of connected homes in the U.S. that own a home automation device is growing fast, according to the NPD Group. Researchers measured home automation adoption at 15% of U.S. internet households as of April 2017 — up from 10% a year earlier.

“The growth we are seeing in the number of owner homes is an indication that a broader field of available products, wider distribution, and greater awareness are actually adding users,” Ben Arnold, the executive director of industry analyst for the firm said in a press release.

Home Automation Adoption
NPD’s Digital Voice Assistants: Ownership & Applications Report found that the value of sales of such devices has increased 43% this year. The biggest slice of the sector is security and monitoring devices. Video doorbells (123% growth this year compared to the similar period of 2016) and smart lighting (83% growth) are making their impact felt. System controllers, power and sensors, home automation kits and smart entry showed similar growth.

Voice-activated wireless speakers also had a good year: Ownership more than tripled in the course of a year and the products now are in 10% of U.S. Internet households. The report found that 36 percent of existing smart home device owners also own voice-activated speakers and 65% are interested in using voice commands to control other home devices. “Voice-enabled speakers have also played a key role in catalyzing interest in the smart home,” Arnold said in the release.

Growth in ownership of voice-activated wireless speakers was evident in all age groups. Eleven percent of consumers in the 35- to 54- year old age bracket owned such speakers, up from 7% last year. Six percent of respondents older than 55 own the devices, up from 1 percent last year. The same pattern was seen in home automation devices. Ownership in the 35-54-year-old age group grew from 11 percent to 16 percent, while the 55+ ownership group ticked up from 6% to 7%.

The research was based on input from 2,600 consumers that have used voice commands to operate a consumer electronic device. The 2016 and 2017 surveys both were conducted over a two-week period in April.

In late August, Gartner reported that the market for wireless speakers enabled by virtual personal assistants will grow from $720 million in 2016 to $3.52 billion in 2021.